"Broadway: The American Musical" (2004)TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

19 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A six-part documentary about the Broadway musical

Plot Keywords:

Broadway's Golden Age | Broadway New York City | Nostalgia

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Chris Ferry	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Sondheim	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Carol Channing	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)

(more)

Series Directed by
Michael Kantor		(6 episodes, 2004)

Series Writing credits
Michael Kantor		(3 episodes, 2004)

Series Produced by
Michael Kantor	....	producer (6 episodes, 2004)

Series Sound Department
Mark Mandler	....	sound recordist (6 episodes, 2004)
Angela Organ	....	assistant sound editor (6 episodes, 2004)
Deborah Wallach	....	supervising sound editor (6 episodes, 2004)
John Zecca	....	sound recordist (6 episodes, 2004)
Erich Netherton	....	assistant narration recordist (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Ghost Light Films
• Thirteen/WNET
• NHK
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Carlton International Media (in association with) (as Carlton International)

Distributors

• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2004) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• NHK (2004) (Japan) (TV)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2005) (UK) (TV) (BBC 4)
• Divisa Home Video (2006) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Eos Orchestra  incidental music performed by
• Right Track Recording  music recorded at (as Right Track Recording Studio)

Runtime:

360 min (6 parts)

Country:

USA | UK | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Shubert Theater - 225 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Ghost Light Films

Trivia:

The unidentified two-strip Technicolor sequences used to illustrate "The Ziegfeld Follies" were lifted out of Glorifying the American Girl (1929). The star of this film, also unidentified although frequently shown in the clips, was Mary Eaton, sister of interviewee Doris Eaton.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A two-strip technicolor clip of Dennis King and Jeanette MacDonald from The Vagabond King (q.v.) is used to illustrate the pre-Ziegfeld shows seen on Broadway before the turn of the century. The Vagabond King was not performed on Broadway until 1925, and the film was made four years later (1929) and released in 1930.

Movie Connections:

Features Roadhouse Nights (1930)

Enjoyable as an Educational Document

This will probably be a valuable tool to educators through the years. I did not find it especially entertaining as it was very much "by the book" in the traditional PBS sense. I would have preferred that we had heard more from the actual people that were there rather than so many academics and relatives of those who it was about. Also, I know so many others have said it as well, but way too many movie clips and you never knew what you were looking at. People were not identified, etc. But, I applaud them for taking the time to make it and for putting it all down. Still better to have this than not to have done it.

NOTE: I thoroughly enjoyed the extra interview footage. It is actually more entertaining and enlightening than the actual series. I wonder what they must still have and what they might have done with it?